Minutes of the meeting of High Lane Residents’ Association
Date: 4th December 2025 Time: 8pm
Venue: High Lane Library
Present: Caroline Smith; Darrell Williams; Barry and Angie Sequeira; Sue Forrester; Lisa Robinson-Hall and Richard Jones (HLVNF)
Apologies: Eryl Hughes; David Burks and John Baker
1. Welcome given by Caroline Smith and a thank you to everyone for attending.
Caroline asked Richard to provide the meeting with an update on the proposed planning applications:
Richard reported that there had been a good attendance at the HLVNF meeting on Saturday 22nd November and had received numerous email addresses for the HLVNF to engage with. He stressed that the more responses received against the development the more credibility and weight it lends to the argument against SLP proposals. The Library had held a drop-in session on 28th November attended by SMBC personnel who were asking if High Lane doesn’t want 1000 new homes how many would we accept, which means that it is not a “done deal”. If we can argue that the development would be better suited to a different location – somewhere less rural and adjacent to urban areas with infrastructure already in place the council may listen to our objections. Based on that, HLVNF are asking the residents of High Lane to do one of two things:
-
- The first thing is to subscribe to their response document (an interim document for people who want to respond early) and subsequently an updated document available from 10th December, which will be emailed out to people on the mailing list and shared with HLRA and the Hazel Grove Action group. Councillors in Disley also want to be included. Richard is hoping that 500 and above responses are received.
- The second thing HLNVF is asking residents to complete by 10th December is an opinion-based questionnaire which can be a valuable and useful tool to share with SMBC as proved previously. Richard continued to say that we should accept that there is a need for some houses to be built in High Lane in the next 17 years but it must be proportionate. Both documents were available to collect at the meeting.
Q. Has anyone come up with a figure that would be acceptable within the infrastructure that we’ve got?
A. Richard responded that that is what the planners should be doing. It seems more than a coincidence that the two moderate quality plots allocated by the government consultants as "suitable for potential development" are the two areas that the developers have already put in an application for. Out of the 27 areas of green belt that have been re-allocated as "grey belt, suitable for development", 25 of those have developer applications. Richard feels that there is significant reason to challenge some of these applications including the methodology that has been used to redefine green to grey belt. There are other pieces of grey belt assessment that could have been used which are more suitable for development but haven’t been allocated by SLP, which doesn’t quite add up. That is the argument to put forward: too many houses in the wrong place when there are other places that SMBC said that they could build on.
A resident commented that the developers seem to have done the business before anyone else, to which Richard replied that one developer in particular has been lobbying since 2017. The government have forced councils into this process by giving them an ultimatum causing the councils to take the path of least resistance. It is unlikely that High Lane will be achieve a 0% house build situation but anything significantly lower than the proposed 1000 homes that reflects the opinions of the community would hopefully be a positive outcome.
Q. Is there any reason why there wasn’t the option of ticking “no homes” on the questionnaire?
A. Richard replied that would indicate a protest vote and HLVNF is not meant to be a protest organisation – it is a consultation organisation. He continued, to say that a lot of house builders have a minimum viable model and if they don’t achieve the size of allocation they want, they cease to be interested but it is your choice and your opinion when selecting your preferred option for the number of units: 0-100; 101-250; 251-500; 501-750 or 750-1000 to be developed in High Lane. He continued to say that HLVNF is not here to judge – they are here to collate the information received and put it forward to the council the best way they can that hopefully changes their mind.
A resident remarked that there will be some people at the Town Hall who remember that High Lane had accepted an allocation of 500 new homes a few years ago. Richard agreed but said that that was when the choice was originally between 0-4000 and a subsequent survey had shown that the preference for the revised allocation from between 0-500 was for "less than a 100". He continued, to say that HLVNF still have that information, which they had shared with the then MP William Wragg that he used to negotiate with the GM Spatial Framework plan to get a "0% greenbelt" promise.
Q. How would you advise people to reply to the proposed Persimmon's development?
A. Richard explained that this is referred to by the council as a "speculative development" proposal. The reason that it is speculative is that of the 2 parcels of land that they have chosen – one is still designated as green belt that is not suitable for development, and the other plot is the highest quality grey belt, which doesn’t fit SMBC’s planning application allocation model. Richard told the meeting that one parcel of land straddles Windlehurst Road to the north and the other is next to Bateson’s Trailers.
Q. Are there still plans to build on the left-hand side of the A6?
A. Richard confirmed this and told the meeting that there are 67 mine entrances and 4 tranches of high-risk land going right through where they want to develop. The area is also a high-risk flood area and the railway line runs underneath, which is shown on the PDF presentation which he will share with HLRA [see p.29 of HLVNF SLP Consultation Meeting & AGM Slides (PDF file, 76 pages)]. He added that if both developments, north and south of the A6, go ahead with staggered traffic lights onto the A6, this will dramatically increase the amount of pollution in the area. The regulatory 202 report from the Environmental Agency, which Richard will share with HLRA, states that 47% of the UK are affected by poor air quality.
A resident commented that if the mine shafts are still open and they were subsequently capped that would increase the drainage problems in the high-risk flood areas. Richard agreed and said that this could cause future subsidence and who would want to buy a house that might flood or even sink?
Richard thanked everyone for their time and for listening and left the meeting with this message: Respond; Object; Protect.
2. Minutes of the last meeting – approved.
3. Police and Crime Report – no police presence at the meeting but Sgt Rachel Walton had emailed a police report as follows:
Police staffing update
Sgt Rachel Walton - Currently covering Marple, High Lane, Mellor, Romiley, Bredbury, Woodley, Hazel Grove, Stepping Hill, Great Moor, Offerton. We are getting a second Sgt joining us in January who will be taking over Hazel Grove, Stepping Hill, Great Moor, Offerton meaning Sgt Walton can focus on the Marple (including High Lane) and Werneth areas. We currently have 5 officers covering the above mentioned areas. New Neighbourhood Officer Hannah MacNeill is now covering Marple areas. We also have 2 students officers assisting us on a 10-week rotation and a Special Constable who is due to join us as a volunteer in the new year at Marple. Our previous Chief Superintendent Lewis Hughes has moved away from Division and we have a new Chief Super, Natalie Dalby who has communicated that she is keen to work in partnership with other departments to tackle neighbourhood crime including burglary, robbery and theft offences.
Halloween / Bonfire Night - Operation Treacle
During the last week of October and into November local Neighbourhood teams including those on the East were deployed on high Vis Patrol in hotspot areas for Anti-social behaviour linked to Fireworks. During this period we received 249 reports of antisocial behaviour across the district. This was down from 313 incidents from the same period last year. Of these 85 related to rowdy or inconsiderate behaviour – down from 128 the previous year and 54 related to issues with fireworks. On average officers attended about 10 incidents per evening involving fireworks and youths with a number of fireworks seized from a number of individuals, a number of young persons were taken home and discussions had with parents. Of note there was an incident at the War Memorial in Marple in the park whereby a bin was set on fire next to the memorial causing criminal damage to the path and structure, we are still trying to get CCTV footage from the council presently and no members of the public have come forward with any information after the press release. However, the council came out only hours after the incident and did an amazing job of repairing the tarmac and clearing up the smoke damage so that the Remembrance Parade could still go ahead on the following Sunday. Since then we have increased police patrols in the park.
Operation Sceptre
The fundamental aim of Operation Sceptre is to raise awareness of the dangers of knife crime and reduce it by targeting those carrying weapons, disrupting the supply of knives, and providing young people with positive alternatives to crime. Over this week of intensification, we recorded the following activities: 61 Stop Searches and 10 Arrests. Weapon sweeps at 7 locations with one knife recovered. Crucial crew inputs to 176 children per day for 5 days. This aims at educating young people with a hope of prevention further down the line. Test purchases at 7 stores utilising Trading Standards. Knife arch [for detection of knives] deployed at local schools.
Targeted activity
Two drugs warrants were executed in Marple and a quantity of drugs, both Class A and B, were found as well as CS spray. Two arrests were made for drug supply.
-
-
-
The Marple neighbourhood team seized a van last week after a local resident made a report of 2 males fly tipping near to the canal on Brabyns Brow. The male made off, leaving their vehicle and mobile phones behind, all of which have been seized.
-
ASB – Brabyns Park, Marple Memorial Park and High Lane Park are all recognised as anti-social behaviour hotspots and as such having been added to our local patrol plans after reports of anti-social behaviour and youths on off road bikes, on some occasions they have been reported to have weapons. Local officers and Special Constables have been giving those areas repeated attention as the nights draw darker. However, we would encourage members of the public to report and instances of anti-social behaviour to us as a lot of the information we have gathered is from social media.
-
Strines Road – Local officers and the tutor unit conducted a speeding operation last Wednesday on Strines Road. 15 vehicles were stopped for traffic violations and of those, 8 traffic offence reports were handed out.
-
-
Operation Siberia
Domestic burglaries are expected to increase from October through to December.
Stockport Division a new dedicated “Burglary car” AM and PM to investigate all burglaries reported in Stockport, the idea being that they respond in a timely manner and complete all relevant Investigations asap. These resources are being staffed by the neighbourhood teams.
We have had assistance from the Stockport Police cadets who are a group of high-school age children assisted by x3 adult volunteers who have been door knocking, providing crime prevention advice and posting leaflets on the East of Stockport, especially areas at higher risk of residential burglaries.
Community Speedwatch
Community Speedwatch is currently operating in the High Lane area and has been received well by the local community. We now have 3 roads that the team operate on: Carr Brow, Hartington and Meadway. NBO (Neighbourhood Beat Officer) PC Crompton, has been instrumental in its success and visits the site a couple of times a month to assist the volunteers. Over 100 vehicles were stopped by Darren and the local police team last month. Due to High Lane's success, we now have plans to expand to the Werneth area and we have been given the go-ahead by GMPs Traffic PCSO’s.
A resident added that a recent Speedwatch on Hartington Road by traffic police using an official speed gun had been successful in apprehending a van driver who had previous history of not adhering to the speed limit and also a driver who was found to have an illegal number plate. Praise was given to Alan and Joyce on an amazing job collecting data which police can act on.
Operation North Star
Operation North Star aligns with the Home Office's national Winter of Action campaign, which launches on 1st December focusing on the night-time economy, persistent anti-social behaviour, and retail crime. This year's operation encompasses everything from our Christmas markets to New Year's Eve celebrations. As well as general ASB this Operation will focus on eight priority areas:
• Violence prevention – particularly focused on keeping women and girls safe in public spaces
• Drink and drug driving – aligned with NPCC [National Police Chiefs' Council] Operation Limit campaign
• Domestic abuse – supporting victims, targeting perpetrators
• Burglary prevention and investigation
• Personal robbery and theft prevention
• Vehicle crime
• Cybercrime awareness
• Retail crime – protecting businesses during their busiest trading period
Caroline emphasised that if you see anything suspicious please report it.
4. Finances – Caroline detailed the HLRA General and Project Account in the absence of John
The HLRA General account
The opening balance for the HLRA General account at the beginning of November 2025 (taking rounding into account) was £ 3,614
Income
During November, the income to HLRA was £ 75
This consisted of 7 individual subscriptions.
Giving an income Total of £3,689
Expenditure
The expenditure during November was
|
Expenses for the printing the AGM Agenda |
£ 8 |
|
A donation to the High Lane Village Neighbourhood Forum towards the leaflets advising residents of the Meeting in the Village Hall to discuss the Impacts of the new Stockport Local Plan and the proposed Housing allocation of 1000 buildings. |
£ 100 |
|
The Website Licensing and domain name charge |
£ 21 |
|
The Lloyds Bank account charge |
£ 8 |
For November, our Total Expenditure was £ 137
The Account balances now are
General account £3,552
HLRA Project Account £2,935
HLRA Total Amount £6,487
The War Memorial Account provided by Barry.
Barry reported that four gold-plated signs saying "High Lane Village" have been made to replace the Stockport signage on the two big cubic planters by The Royal Oak on either side of the road and also on three planters at the bottom of Hartington Road and Park Road near the bench. This will provide a nice approach for traffic coming from Hazel Grove as they near The Royal Oak. They cost £192 for the good quality plates and £10 for sundries/manual work. Angie expressed thanks to Alison and Warren for looking after the planters with flowers and shrubs. At present there is £1,900 approximately in the War Memorial account. He reported that the book tables in the surgery were very full so no more donations of books were needed at this present time.
5. Planning applications provided by Eryl
Red Lion DC/097546. Install fixed line broadband apparatus OFN
132 Buxton Rd DC/097546. Install fixed line broadband apparatus OFN
103 Andrew Lane DC/097488. T1 The roadside close to bridge crown to be left at 5.5 metres due to wagons and buses keep damaging branches. There is no mention in the application of temporary closure of the road OFN
Brookside Primary school DC/097247. Variation of condition1 of planning permission to allow retention of the modular building (mobile classroom) accommodation of pre-school and before/ after school clubs for a further 5 years OFN (Eryl commented: I can't see any objections since the building has been there for a length of time) OFN
16 Alders Rd DC/097565. On 21st September as a result of severe winds, two large branches of our neighbour's Oak tree broke, which were overhanging the garden, if not attended to would have fallen and caused a lot of damage to plants and garden ornaments. Have contacted the neighbour who contacted East Cheshire council to inform and get permission to trim the broken branches. There are still two further large overhanging branches from two separate Oak trees from the neighbour's garden. The property is on the border of two councils with Alders Rd in Stockport and the neighbour is in Cheshire East: Light Alders Lane. We would therefore, if we were permitted to, cut the two overhanging branches TPO194E OFN
4 Orford Close DC/097542. Retrospective application for a dormer loft conversion, which will provide two additional bedrooms, one with en-suite toilet. Application also includes change of a window into a patio door in the rear dining room OFN
9 Carr Brow DC/094783, This has been granted. Change of use from residential dwelling house (use class 3) to Children’s Care Home (use class C2). To accommodate up to 5 children between the ages of 8 and 17. 2 trained residential support workers on site at all times including overnight and a third member of staff from 13.00 to 22.00. They will operate on a rolling shift pattern of 24-hour shifts. Additional working night staff are provided where risk assessment indicates a need. Police comment: “GMP say the proposed use is acceptable from a crime prevention perspective and they are happy for the LA to determine the application”. It was understood that the residents on Carr Brow were going to appeal against this decision.
6. Outdoor Gym received from David:
“On Wednesday Eryl, Jonathan Headlam and I met to consider options for the adult gym. We have some time as they can't install the equipment in winter. The quote for eight pieces of equipment is £10,921 - £3,662 for the installation and £7,259 for the Conipave surface. We have approx. £9,300 so we are nearly there. We do have time to try and raise more funds. SMBC have added a further cost of £500 to collect and deliver the equipment. So we are considering fewer pieces of equipment, maybe six which is manageable which would be our Plan B. Special thanks goes to Mike Lomax from the Stair Shop and Burdett Funeral Directors for their very generous donations”.
Caroline asked the meeting if anyone had any ideas to raise the £1,500 needed as it would be a shame to have achieved so much and not be able to complete the project and explained that because HLRA is not a charity, we are excluded from so many sources of funding. Also the Conipave surface required by SMBC for insurance purposes is an added cost. Parbans and Sharples Funeral Directors were suggested.
7. A.O.B.
-
Funding the outdoor gym. Barry suggested donating £500 from the War Memorial account and £1,000 from the Project account to make up the shortfall of £1,500 needed to complete the adult gym. Caroline thought this was an excellent idea and would discuss this with John (treasurer for HLRA).
-
Manhole covers. It was reported that after works carried out by BT Openreach, some of the manhole covers had been replaced unevenly creating a trip hazard. It was questioned why a faster broadband couldn’t be supplied to some areas of the village and the answer was “there was not enough room in the cabinets”.
-
Clock in library. The clock has been mislaid after the library temporarily closed the small meeting room. Caroline thought she could replace it.
-
Flower beds outside Sainsbury’s. The planted area outside Sainsbury’s has been neglected after the store had reassured High Lane residents that the area would be maintained and it was reported that some shoppers walk over the planted area instead of using the designated path. Caroline would contact the store.
-
Overgrown vegetation. A resident had reported some overhanging branches which had become a hazard to pedestrians at Jackson’s Edge corner on Broadwood Close. The problem had already been reported but the matter had not yet been resolved. Caroline would revisit.
-
Undergrowth on the A6. Angie was concerned that the undergrowth on the pavements along the A6 had dangerously narrowed the passage for pedestrians. Barry had approached the residents of Station Farm - the area from The Royal Oak to Middlewood Road which is within their remit and they agreed to clear it but so far this year have failed to do so. Caroline had completed a form previously to ask SMBC to address this matter and would contact SMBC again.
-
Green bin. Warren and Alison asked Caroline to apply for a new green garden waste bin as the refuse wagon had damaged the existing bin.
-
Bluebell planting. Thanks were given to everyone involved in obtaining and planting the bluebell bulbs in Hartley Woods and in the planters around the village.
-
The next HLRA meeting is on Thursday 8thJanuary 2026 at 8pm in High Lane Library